Veterans thanked for courage

Oakville veterans thanked for courage

ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog

A SALUTE TO SACRIFICE: Some 800 veterans attended the 11th annual Veterans’ Appreciation Luncheon hosted Monday by MEDIchair at the The Oakville Conference Centre. Here, Master Cpl. Allan Kiss of the Canadian Forces Queen’s Own Rifles, and an Oakville firefighter, speaks about Cpl. Robert Mitchell, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006. Mitchell’s parents were in attendance. Just prior to the luncheon, St. Dominic’s School students presented Carol Mitchell with two posters created by the students.

Oakville veterans thanked for courage

ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog

ULTIMATE LOSS: Carol and Bob Mitchell, parents of the late Cpl. Robert Mitchell, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006, attended the 11th annual Veterans’ Appreciation Luncheon, at which a tribute was paid to their son.

Oakville veterans thanked for courage

ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog

family ties: Carol Mitchell, mother of fallen soldier Cpl. Robert Mitchell, received two posters created by students at St. Dominic’s School from students Amanda Small and Taryn Costello.

The amazing sacrifices Canada’s veterans have made and continue to make were honoured at the Oakville Conference Centre, Monday, during the 11th annual Veterans’ Appreciation Luncheon.

Held by MEDIchair Halton, the event drew about 800 veterans from Halton and beyond, many of whom attended the event in uniform — jackets heavy with medals from past conflicts.

The event kicked off with a piper playing as a Colour Party carried Canadian and Allied flags to a podium at the front of the room.

This was preceded by a procession of local politicians, Canadian Forces members, Halton police and RCMP officers.

All who could stand, did so for the singing of O Canada and a reading of Lt. Col. John McCrae’s poem, In Flanders Field.

For many, the pain and emotion associated with war proved too much and they wiped away tears as the Christian hymn Abide with Me played.

“Veterans, we will always be influenced by your unbreakable spirit and your unwavering courage,” said Kristin Courtney, MEDIchair Halton founder.

“Today and every day, we honour you, your comrades who have passed on, and those who have given their lives in service to our country. We will never forget the tremendous sacrifices that have been made and that continue to be made for our freedom.”

Veterans were also thanked for their service as hundreds of cards made by students from Oakville and Burlington were presented to them.

Young noted the appreciation luncheon began in 2002 with only a handful of veterans attending, but has grown every year since into the mammoth event it is today.

With the approach of Remembrance Day, Young said, Canadians have been finding their own meaningful ways to connect with veterans because they recognize the contributions Canada’s veterans have made by helping to end oppression during the First World War, Second World War and Korean War; and in places like Afghanistan and Libya.

Flynn said with the disappearance of the First World War veterans and the dwindling numbers of Second World War veterans, now more than ever it is important to pass the tradition of remembrance on to the next generation.

Carr said 1.5 million Canadians have served in Canada’s military since the First World War with more than 100,000 Canadians making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the freedoms so many take for granted today.

The words ‘ultimate sacrifice’ and what they truly mean were made clear through the telling of the story of Cpl. Robert Mitchell, 32, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006.

Canadian Forces Master Cpl. and Oakville firefighter Allan Kiss made the tribute to his fallen comrade whom he said worked furiously to get into the Canadian Forces after an ankle injury during training nearly ended his military career before it even began.

Kiss described Mitchell, who grew up in Owen Sound, Ont., as a devoted father of three, who enjoyed spending time with his children and who married his sweetheart Leanne on Nov. 25, 2000.

Kiss said Mitchell was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade, fired by Taliban insurgents, struck the Coyote reconnaissance vehicle he was in.

Mitchell and three other Canadian soldiers had been providing security for an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) team, which had been clearing mines, when the attack occurred.

“He believed in the mission and that the people of Afghanistan should be able to enjoy the same freedoms we take for granted here in Canada,” said Kiss.

In an act of remembrance, Mitchell’s likeness and the likenesses of the 157 other Canadian Forces members who have died in Afghanistan (including Oakville’s Col. Geoff Parker) were brought together in a massive painting set up outside the conference centre.

The three-metre by 12-metre mural took artist Dave Sopha, of Cambridge, Ont., more than three years to create.

It has travelled across Canada and been viewed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, during their visit to Canada.

At St. Dominic School, the inaugural Cpl. Robert Mitchell Citizenship Award, sponsored by Carol Mitchell, was presented to deserving Grade 7 students last June.

Recipients demonstrate perseverance, compassion, active involvement in their community, and work to the best of their potential — qualities that exemplify Mitchell.

Carol became acquainted with the school when she received a letter and poster of gratitude for her son’s sacrifice from a Grade 7 student.

“I thought the whole event was tremendously, wonderfully organized,” said Joe Mavrinac of Mississauga about the luncheon. “There was great respect paid to the fallen veterans and the reception we received here was wonderful.”

Mavrinac served on board corvettes with the Canadian Navy during the Second World War ensuring vital supplies reached Great Britain from North America.

The journey was not an easy one as convoys crossing the Atlantic had to get past packs of German U-boats (submarines) bent on sinking as many Allied ships as possible and starving Britain into submission.

Mavrinac said the enemy never attacked his convoy, however, not all the hardships encountered were man-made.

“In 1944, about this time of year, there was a hurricane. We were taking a convoy across and there were two American ‘four-stackers’ that split in two and sank,” he said. “Our good, old corvette just turned into the storm and away we went. We were underwater half the time, but we didn’t capsize.”

Korean War veteran Hub Lalonde of Chippawa, Ont. also appreciated the luncheon.

Lalonde served with the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Korea from early 1951 until he was wounded by artillery fire in 1952.

“People don’t realize comparing our war to the Second World War isn’t right. It wasn’t the same,” said Lalonde.

“We were basically like the First World War. We lived in holes in the ground and, of course, we had a fight every night. They attacked us only at night. They never bothered us in the daytime because the air force would keep them in their holes.”

Lalonde said his battalion repeatedly beat back a large Chinese advance towards the South Korean capital of Seoul.